Trunk struts
Racer
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 1,282
Likes: 384
From: ESSEX, UK
The initial lift of the trunk is heavy, but once it is open about 12" the struts take over and open it the rest of the way.
When closing it is pretty much the reverse. You pull down until about 10" from closed and then the weight & soft-close takes over.
Mine has after-market struts and they behave just like the OEM ones did before one of them failed.
When closing it is pretty much the reverse. You pull down until about 10" from closed and then the weight & soft-close takes over.
Mine has after-market struts and they behave just like the OEM ones did before one of them failed.
CL Community Team
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,915
Likes: 227
From: Alabama
Even with new struts opening the trunk on the LS430 for the first 6 inches or so is actually way more difficult then it should be. All LS430 trunklids feel super heavy to open.
The struts are primarily designed to not allow the trunk to fall hard from fully open position and to slow the trunk lid down as it descends the last 12 inches or so, stopping it from slamming down hard. The LS430 trunklid operation is a poor design, especially in relation to how well the rest of the car is designed.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 1,056
Likes: 210
From: Florida
Takes some effort to open first several inches then as angle increases effort lessons at about 20-30' deck lid will stay in place at about 70' deck lid will move on its own to fully open.
To close take a little effort to start the close then at maybe 20' (some inches from fully closed) deck lid will close on its own if let go.
Last edited by 430SLOwner; Mar 29, 2022 at 07:05 PM.
Pole Position
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,085
Likes: 401
From: Nor CA
Agree that the design, compared to the modern electric lift options, for LS430s is poor. After a strut failure the replacements (in my case, Strong Arm) worked like OEM. Difficult to open the first 12” or so but then the lid goes up and stays in place. The closing process I always grab the handle to pull the lid down and guide it to a soft landing with a final light “push” so the closing mechanism finishes the process.
When my wife drove this as her daily (she is now spoiled by a 460) she let the lid drop with a slam; that habit explained all of the tail light alarms due to the sockets being rattled that either the bulb filaments gave out or the connectors coming loose.
Regardless of brand, always replace failed or weak struts as the lid will leave a mark for sure….
When my wife drove this as her daily (she is now spoiled by a 460) she let the lid drop with a slam; that habit explained all of the tail light alarms due to the sockets being rattled that either the bulb filaments gave out or the connectors coming loose.
Regardless of brand, always replace failed or weak struts as the lid will leave a mark for sure….
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